Jaya- Mahabharat

भीष्म: - Bhishma

Satyavati continued "I am the daughter of the chief of the local fishermen. To help my father, I'm engaged in this work of rowing the boat across the banks(which proves women could work and be employed traditionally). "

Shantanu told, "O lady of divine fragrance, I am enchanted by you. Mesmerized. Encaptivated. I can't express my heart's condition in any words. I wish to speak to your father. Kindly take me to him." Satyavati had reached the other bank, and she rowed back to the prior one. In the meanwhile, the sun had rose and the birds were chirping merrily and melodiously.

.........................

Shantanu greeted the fishermen chief and said, "O chief of fishermen, salutations to you. I am Shantanu, the son of Pradipa, in the lineage of the Kuru, and the ruler of the kingdom of Hastinapur"

The chief, surprised, spoke gently, "O Rajan! It is of my utmost fortune that you have visited my humble household. Kindly accept my salutations and welcome. How may we, handful of your subjects, be of help to you?"

"Sir, I am extremely mesmerized by your daughter. Her beauty, her words, her gestures are exotic and unparalleled. Her fragrance is entrapping. I have come here with the desire to seek her hand in marriage"
(The reason Indian marriage proposals go with seeking hands is because, the central ritual in our marriage is neither the tying of mangalsutra, nor the taking of 'Fere' or circling around the holy fire, not even Kanyadan. It is the ritual of 'Panigrahan' which literally means, holding hands. It is a romantic and divine ritual where the bride and groom hold each other's hands and give offerings to the fire. That is why the marriage revolves around seeking hand. It means, seeking hand for Panigrahan.)

The chief, excited and taken aback at the excellent proposal for his daughter, spoke thus "O Rajan. I don't know what great virtuous deeds I did in order to get a perfect groom like yourself for my daughter" Shantanu glanced a second, and from behind a curtain in the room he saw, Satyavati adorably peeking, her eyes containing shyness and excitement together.

"But" the chief added, and Shantanu became alert "I have one condition, Rajan".
Puzzled, Shantanu asked, "What is it, Sir? What do you desire to be assured about your daughter? Do you want to see my valour? My prosperity? My determination?" he spoke anxiously.

"None, Rajan. I wish to see your love and commitment" the chief said. Shantanu, still nonplussed, said "What?"

The chief nodded, and said, "O Rajan. The entire land knows that you already have a son, and he is the heir to your throne. Devavrata is dear to you, and to your well-wishers too. He is loved by you so dearly that you go nowhere without him. That being said, if you marry my daughter and have children, then O Rajan, my grandchildren shall always remain secondary to you. You may even neglect them. And so will your ministers and well wishers. Eventually my grandchildren and their lineage will be neglected and their glory will never be spoken of. Rajan, under no circumstances is that acceptable to me. It is my duty to think for my daughter and her children, and their welfare and security. So, I ask of you, a simple request. A promise."

Shantanu, already alarmed by the context of the promise, asked in a concerned tone, "What promise is it?"

The chief said, "O Rajan. Promise to me, that you will declare the children born out of your and my daughter's wedding as heir to the throne. Devavrata, or his children or anyone else, shall not ascend to your throne, after you."

The words struck Shantanu like lightning. He stared at the man as if he had blabbered something gibberish. He had to be kidding. There was no way he would do that. Is this man mad? Devavrata was his son, and his 8th one that too.. He was all he had from these many years of life. He was his treasure, his jewel. He was his heart. There was no way in any circumstance that he would deny this dear son, the right to throne. He, and him alone held the right to be his heir.
Shantanu rose, with a stern look, from his seat, and looked at the chief, disheartened and said "There is no way that I will give this promise sir. You could could have asked for anything. You wanted to test my love? This is a test of my sacrifice. And I cannot sacrifice the only happiness of my life, for even myself. I was glad meeting your daughter" Shantanu looked from where Satyavati was peeking, she was no more there "But I cannot sacrifice my son's life for myself. I shall leave now", saying so, he left, with a final glance towards where Satyavati stood peeking from. No she still wasnt there. But he surely heard a faint sob. His heart ached. But he left immediately and came back to his place.